Rise of Order

Part 5

"What about this one?"

Nia pushed her body out of the muck, pulling her knees underneath her. Blood leaked from her nose, and one eye was so swollen it was only open halfway. She stared at Wingate, then at me.

"I knew you didn't want money," she said, her voice somehow divorced from the pain she must be feeling. Her good eye keyed in on Wingate. "Your men were all Southies. You're working with them, even if you don't sound or look it."

"I'm not here to answer your questions."

Nia betrayed no fear. "I hate the Freders, and everyone like them. Frakkin' old bloods, controlling everything. My mom is the best damn computer engineer at Caldyne, but she'll never get beyond division supervisor because she's not anyone's relative. My dad's in jail because he pissed off some drunk richie. Macey's father is the worst of the worst. They hide behind their Abolitionist nonsense, but they're butchers, just like the Southies. I've hated every moment I've had to suck up to her. But I needed to—for my mom, for connections. But I don't need to pretend now. You don't need to kill me. I can help you."

Wingate's mouth formed into a twisted half-smile. He looked at me. "Jenn, we need to do this. You know that, right?"

I studied Nia. She was bloody, and a hair trigger away from death. Inside the depth of those eyes, she was afraid. But she wasn't beaten. She'd almost won this round. Almost destroyed everything. Yet I didn't hate her for it. Her life was in my hands. She was dangerous, but she might also be useful to us.

I placed a hand on Wingate's arm, forcing out the necessary words. "We're better than them. We don't need to kill in cold blood. She can be useful."

Wingate shook his head. "She's dangerous. You saw how fast she is. I thought that highborn stuff was a joke, but it's not. I don't have any more zip restraints. She'll try again. I know you didn't want to see anyone get killed, but we need to do what we need to do."

I tried to soften my voice. To sound like he expected me to. "Wingate, please don't do this."

"Sorry, Jenn. It's them or us now."

He was going to do it. Damn. I stepped between Nia and the gun.

"What the hell..."

"You aren't going to kill her. Not unless I say we have to."

His eye were wide, but his chest puffed. "You aren't in charge here."

"I got Macey here. I made this possible—not the Southies. Not you. And I made the arrangements that will allow this whole job to work. Without me, you've got nothing. And I say we aren't going to kill her." I glanced back at Nia. "At least not until I say otherwise."

Wingate gaped. His lips twitched as he searched for words. But he knew I was right. His chest deflated. His eyes narrowed with smoldering anger, and something else: suspicion.

"Wingate, I know what you want. I understand the fire inside. I feel it too." I made my voice falter slightly. It was easier than the giggles I'd choked out on the v-copter. Some of the tension around Wingate's eyes disappeared, and he returned his gun to its holster. He looked down at Macey's unconscious form.

"We're close to where we want to be. I can carry her for a bit," he said. "But not through that collapsed area."

I glanced at the dark passage, then at Macey's inert form, her alterator-sculpted hair, her perfect skin. "Drag her through, just watch out for the really sharp pieces. She might get some scrapes, but we need her alive, not happy." I didn't recognize my own voice.

Wingate's brows rose. He took a hard look at me, trying to reconcile the person before him with the one he knew. I gave him half a smile. "After you." He shook his head and grabbed Macey by the arms.

Once Wingate had entered the passage with Macey, I retrieved Ace's gun and placed it in my pocket. "You follow them, Nia. I'll take up the rear."

She picked herself up from the ground and got moving without showing any pain or hesitation. As she crouched down at the edge of the darkness, she turned her head toward me. "Why did you save me?"

I struggled to keep any emotion, any tell, from my face or my eyes. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, Nia. Now, please let's get out of this damn tunnel."

She disappeared into the darkness. A wave of dizziness swept over me. I sucked in deep breaths until I was steady. The drug would last another hour or two, at most. I already wanted more. That was the price. That, and a bit of whatever soul I had left.

It was time to finish this.